All currently marketed low fat, shelf-stable milk shake beverages lack the rich, creamy mouth feel of milk shake beverages having high fat contents.
A recently-filed patent application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/834,549 entitled "Process For Making Milk Shake Beverage Compositions Having Improved Consistency, Flavor and Physical Stability" filed on Apr. 4, 1997, discloses processes for making milk shake beverage compositions having improved consistency, flavor and physical stability. These particular processes eliminate or modify the step of pasteurization in order to limit the swelling of starch granules and thereby avoid the detrimental effects that the shearing forces of homogenization have on swollen starch granules. However, changing unit operation processing conditions, such as reversing the sequence of pasteurization and homogenization, involves a redesign of the process scheme, which is both time consuming and costly.
In contrast to the process changes required in the above-mentioned patent application, the present invention involves the use of a unique combination of three carrageenans, which in combination with the other claimed ingredients, are more resistant to the shear forces of homogenization, thereby providing a low fat milk shake beverage having the mouth feel of high fat milk shake beverages, in addition to having physical stability.
None of the prior art references, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,962,482; 4,650,683 and 5,458,904, discloses a low fat, shelf-stable, ready-to-drink milk shake beverage having the mouth feel of high fat milk shake beverages. Moreover, none of the prior art references discloses low fat milk shake beverages containing the presently-claimed unique combination of three carrageenans--a kappa carrageenan having strong casein reactivity, a kappa carrageenan having weak casein reactivity and a lambda carrageenan to regulate viscosity.
The present inventors have discovered that the combination of these three carrageenans is required in order to achieve the desired creamy consistency of a high fat milk shake beverage and to maintain physical stability. Most other carrageenans, either alone or in blends, will actually further destabilize this type of milk shake beverage system when it submitted to retort heating. The unique combination of carrageenans of the present invention, on the other hand, stabilizes the beverage from cream separation, phase separation, syneresis and protein coagulation, and also contributes to the rich creamy mouth feel and body of the low fat milk shake beverage of the present invention.
It is very difficult to make a retorted dairy product that is physically stable. With a milk shake beverage like the present invention, a formulator has to be concerned about three major categories of physical stability--(1) the elimination of the fat cream layer at the surface, (2) the avoidance of a clear whey layer at the top, and (3) the avoidance of severe mottling probably due to insoluble whey protein complexes. These factors tend to work against each other. Thus, a stabilizer system which eliminates the cream layer will usually concurrently cause insoluble whey protein complexes and a clear whey separation. These are signs of what is called overstabilization. Therefore, in formulating the presently claimed beverages, one has to be concerned about under and over stabilizing one aspect or another of the dairy beverage system.
The present inventors were also faced with a critical fourth issue--the consumer has to enjoy drinking the concoction. Most stabilizers not effective in this type of system because they are not effective in dairy systems or in neutral systems or under high heat. While carrageenans are the one type of hydrocolloid that can be effective in this system, most individual carrageenan types or blends will actually destabilize the system further. In addition, individual carrageenans or blends are ineffective in providing the desired mouth feel because they either do not provide sufficient mouth feel and body or they make the system gummy or have too much mouth coating. However, by using the unique three carrageenan combination of the present invention, all these problems are simultaneously solved. There is no cream layer or clear whey separation, nor is there a problem with protein separation. Also, the product has a most pleasant texture and mouth feel. It is believed that the desired mouth feel is derived from the combination of the three carrageenans, the fat mimetic modified food starch and the dairy ingredient.
Because the beverages of the present invention are low in fat (containing about 1.1 percent or less by weight of fat based on the total weight of the beverage), they have the advantages associated with reduced fat intake that many health conscious individuals are seeking, but none of the disadvantages, such as lack of mouth feel, that are associated with beverages having low fat contents.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the claimed milk shake beverages are shelf-stable, and have non-refrigerated storage stabilities of about one year. That is, there is no appreciable deterioration in quality for at least about twelve months.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the beverages are ready-to-drink, which means that they can be consumed directly from the container without any further preparation normally associated with powders and concentrates which must be reconstituted, or with freshly prepared products which must be made from scratch.
These and additional objects and advantages of the present invention are shown from the descriptions below.